Remarketing Guide

Remarketing is important because it maximizes your advertising efforts by targeting users who have previously visited your website or shown interest in your brand. This is done through cookies and can help increase brand exposure, improve conversion rates, enhance ad relevance, optimize cost efficiency, foster customer engagement, and provide a competitive edge in the digital marketplace.

What is remarketing?

Remarketing, also known as retargeting, is a digital marketing strategy that involves targeting and advertising to individuals who have previously interacted with a website, mobile app, or other online platforms. It is a way to reconnect with potential customers who have shown interest in a product or service but have not made a purchase or taken a desired action.

Remarketing works by placing a tracking code, often called a pixel, on a website or app, which tracks user behavior and collects data such as pages visited, products viewed, or actions taken. This data allows marketers to create customized ad campaigns to target those specific individuals across various platforms or websites they visit.

Once a user leaves the website or app without converting (such as making a purchase or signing up), remarketing allows advertisers to show tailored ads to them as they browse other websites or use social media platforms. These ads are designed to remind the users of their previous interest, promote relevant products or offers, and encourage them to return and complete the desired action.

Remarketing can be implemented through various channels, including display ads on websites, social media platforms, email marketing, or personalized recommendations. It helps businesses stay top-of-mind for potential customers, increase brand awareness, and ultimately improve conversion rates by re-engaging with individuals who have already shown some level of interest.

Why is remarking important?

Remarketing is important for several reasons:

1. Increased Brand Exposure: Remarketing enables you to stay in front of users who have already shown interest in your brand or visited your website. By displaying targeted ads to these users across various platforms and websites they visit, you increase your brand exposure and stay top of mind.
2. Higher Conversion Rates: Remarketing allows you to target users who are already familiar with your brand or have shown intent by engaging with your website. These users are more likely to convert into customers compared to first-time visitors. By re-engaging them through personalized ads, you can significantly increase conversion rates and drive more sales or desired actions.
3. Improved Ad Relevance: Remarketing campaigns allow you to deliver highly relevant and personalized ads to specific audience segments based on their previous interactions. By tailoring your ads to match their interests and preferences, you provide a more engaging and customized experience. This relevancy increases the chances of capturing their attention and driving them to take action.
4. Enhanced ROI and Cost Efficiency: Remarketing campaigns often yield higher returns on investment (ROI) compared to other digital advertising strategies. Since you are targeting users who are already familiar with your brand, the likelihood of generating conversions and achieving your campaign objectives is higher. This increased efficiency can result in a lower cost per acquisition and improved overall campaign performance.
5. Customer Engagement and Loyalty: Remarketing allows you to nurture relationships with existing customers and encourage repeat purchases or ongoing engagement. By re-engaging with customers who have made a previous purchase, you can upsell or cross-sell relevant products or services, provide exclusive offers, and build loyalty. This fosters a stronger relationship with your customer base and can lead to long-term business growth.
6. Adapting to the Customer Journey: The customer journey often involves multiple touchpoints and decision-making stages. Remarketing enables you to align your ad messaging with each stage of the customer journey, from awareness to consideration and conversion. By being present throughout the journey, you can guide users towards making a purchase or taking the desired action.
7. Competitive Advantage: Remarketing is a widely adopted digital advertising strategy, and by not utilizing it, you may be missing out on valuable opportunities to reach and engage with your target audience. Implementing remarketing allows you to remain competitive, maintain visibility in the market, and capture customers who might otherwise be lost to your competitors.

How does remarketing works?

Remarketing works by placing a tracking code, often referred to as a pixel or tag, on your website or landing page. This tracking code allows you to capture data about user behavior and actions on your site:

1. Implementation: You place a remarketing tag or pixel on your website or landing page. This code is provided by the remarketing platform you’re using, such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads. The code consists of a JavaScript snippet that collects information about users’ interactions.
2. User Visit: When a user visits your website, the remarketing tag or pixel places a cookie in their browser, which allows their visit to be tracked and associated with a unique identifier.
3. Data Collection: As users browse your website, the remarketing tag collects information such as pages viewed, products added to cart, or forms filled out. This data is stored in the remarketing platform’s database.
4. Audience Building: Based on the collected data, you can create remarketing audiences or segments. These segments can be defined by specific actions, such as users who abandoned their shopping carts, users who visited specific pages, or users who completed a purchase. Segmentation allows you to tailor your remarketing campaigns to specific audience groups.
5. Ad Display: Once your audiences are defined, you can create and set up remarketing ads. When users in your remarketing audiences visit other websites or platforms within the ad network, such as Google Display Network or Facebook, your ads can be displayed to them. The ads are typically personalized to match their previous interactions or interests.
6. Ad Optimization: As your remarketing campaigns run, you can monitor their performance and optimize them based on key metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on ad spend. This optimization process involves adjusting targeting options, ad creatives, and bid strategies to improve campaign effectiveness.
7. Conversion and Re-engagement: The primary goal of remarketing is to bring users back to your website or encourage them to complete a desired action. By displaying targeted ads to users who have shown previous interest, remarketing aims to re-engage them and increase the likelihood of conversion.

Remarking platforms

Remarketing can be implemented across various digital advertising channels, including display ads, social media ads, search ads, and even email marketing. It allows you to stay connected with users throughout their buying journey and reinforce your brand message, ultimately driving conversions and increasing customer engagement. Here is a comprehensive list of remarketing platforms and channels:

1. Google Ads (Google Display Network, YouTube, Gmail)
2. Facebook Ads (Facebook, Instagram)
3. Twitter Ads
4. LinkedIn Ads
5. Bing Ads
6. AdRoll
7. Criteo
8. Outbrain
9. Taboola
10. Pinterest Ads
11. Snapchat Ads
12. Amazon Advertising (Amazon DSP, Sponsored Products)
13. Quora Ads
14. Reddit Ads
15. Instagram Ads (via Facebook Ads Manager)
16. TikTok Ads
17. Email Marketing (using various email marketing platforms)
18. Programmatic Advertising (using Demand-Side Platforms)
19. Native Advertising platforms
20. Mobile in-app advertising networks
21. Display ad networks and exchanges (such as AppNexus, DoubleClick Ad Exchange, OpenX)

Some of the popular platforms used for remarketing explained:

• Google Ads: Google Ads offers robust remarketing capabilities through its Display Network. It allows advertisers to target previous website visitors with display ads as they browse other websites within the Google Display Network.
• Facebook Ads: Facebook offers remarketing options through its advertising platform. Advertisers can create custom audiences based on website visitors, app users, or specific actions taken on Facebook. These audiences can be targeted with tailored ads on Facebook and its partner platforms like Instagram.
• Twitter Ads: Twitter provides remarketing options for advertisers to target users who have previously engaged with their website or app. Advertisers can create tailored audiences based on user behavior and show ads to these audiences on Twitter.
• LinkedIn Ads: LinkedIn offers remarketing capabilities through its advertising platform. Advertisers can target website visitors or specific segments of their audience with sponsored content or display ads on the LinkedIn platform.
• Email Marketing: Email remarketing involves targeting individuals who have provided their email addresses but have not completed a desired action. Advertisers can send personalized emails with relevant offers or reminders to encourage them to return and convert.
• Dynamic Remarketing: Dynamic remarketing is a more advanced approach where personalized ads are dynamically generated based on the specific products or pages a user has previously viewed. This can be implemented through platforms like Google Ads or specific e-commerce platforms.

Remarketing strategies

Implementing effective remarketing strategies can help businesses re-engage with potential customers and improve conversion rates. Here are some remarketing strategies to consider:

• Abandoned Cart Remarketing: Target users who have added products to their shopping cart but have not completed the purchase. Remind them of the items left behind and offer incentives like discounts or free shipping to encourage them to complete the purchase.
• Website Remarketing: Target users who have visited specific pages on your website but have not taken a desired action. Show them tailored ads related to their interests to keep your brand top-of-mind and entice them to return.
• Cross-Sell and Upsell Remarketing: Target customers who have made a purchase and show them ads for complementary or upgraded products. For example, if a customer bought a camera, you could remarket by showing ads for camera accessories or a more advanced model.
• Customer Loyalty Remarketing: Target existing customers with special offers, exclusive discounts, or loyalty rewards to encourage repeat purchases and foster long-term customer loyalty.
• Dynamic Product Remarketing: Implement dynamic remarketing to show personalized ads featuring the exact products or services that users have previously viewed on your website. This personalized approach can significantly increase the chances of conversion.
• Sequential Remarketing: Create a sequence of ads tailored to different stages of the customer journey. Start with general brand awareness ads, then move to more specific product ads, and finally, display ads with special offers or incentives to drive conversions.
• Email Remarketing: Use email marketing to reconnect with users who have provided their email addresses but have not taken a desired action. Send personalized emails with relevant content, product recommendations, or exclusive offers to entice them back to your website.
• Custom Audience Remarketing: Utilize remarketing platforms that allow you to create custom audiences based on specific actions or behaviors. Target users who have engaged with your website, filled out forms, or downloaded content, and tailor your ads accordingly.
• Lookalike Audience Remarketing: Use remarketing platforms to create lookalike audiences based on your existing customers or engaged users. This strategy helps you target new potential customers who share similar characteristics and behaviors with your existing audience.
• Frequency Capping and Ad Rotation: Implement frequency capping to control how often your ads are shown to users to avoid ad fatigue. Rotate your ad creatives to keep them fresh and engaging for your remarketing audience.

Remarketing best practices

When implementing remarketing campaigns, it’s essential to follow best practices to maximize their effectiveness. Here are some remarketing best practices to consider:

1. Set Clear Goals: Clearly define your remarketing goals and objectives. Identify the specific actions or conversions you want to drive, whether it’s completing a purchase, filling out a form, or engaging with specific content.
2. Segment Your Audience: Divide your remarketing audience into relevant segments based on their behavior, interests, or demographics. This segmentation allows you to tailor your ads and messaging to specific groups, increasing their relevance and effectiveness.
3. Customize Ad Creatives: Create compelling and visually appealing ad creatives that align with your brand’s messaging and the interests of your remarketing audience. Personalize the ads whenever possible, showing specific products or offers that users have shown interest in.
4. Use Dynamic Remarketing: If applicable to your business, implement dynamic remarketing to automatically show ads featuring the exact products or services users have viewed. Dynamic ads can significantly enhance relevancy and drive higher conversion rates.
5. Employ Frequency Capping: Set frequency caps to control how often your ads are shown to users within a given time period. This prevents ad fatigue, ensuring that users don’t feel overwhelmed or annoyed by excessive ad exposure.
6. Optimize Landing Pages: Ensure that your landing pages are optimized for remarketing campaigns. They should align with the messaging and offer in your ads, provide a seamless user experience, and have clear calls to action to facilitate conversions.
7. Test Different Ad Formats: Experiment with various ad formats, such as static images, videos, carousel ads, or interactive ads, to see which formats resonate best with your remarketing audience. Test and optimize to find the most engaging and effective ad formats.
8. Leverage Exclusion Lists: Create exclusion lists to prevent showing ads to users who have already converted or taken the desired action. This avoids wasting ad impressions and allows you to focus on users who are still in the conversion funnel.
9. Monitor and Optimize: Continuously monitor the performance of your remarketing campaigns. Track key metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on ad spend. Use this data to identify underperforming segments or ads and make necessary optimizations to improve campaign effectiveness.
10. Respect Privacy and Ad Policies: Adhere to privacy regulations and policies when implementing remarketing campaigns. Obtain proper consent for data collection and use, and ensure compliance with relevant guidelines and regulations, such as GDPR or CCPA.By following these best practices, you can create successful remarketing campaigns that effectively engage with your target audience, drive conversions, and maximize the return on your advertising investment.

Remarketing pitfalls

While remarketing can be a powerful advertising strategy, it’s important to be aware of potential pitfalls to avoid any negative impact on your campaigns and user experience. Some common pitfalls of remarketing and how to mitigate them:

1. Ad Fatigue: Excessive or repetitive remarketing ads can lead to ad fatigue, where users become tired or annoyed with seeing the same ads repeatedly. To mitigate this, carefully manage the frequency and variety of your remarketing ads. Set frequency caps to limit the number of times an ad is shown to an individual user within a certain time frame. Also, consider refreshing your ad creatives periodically to maintain user interest.
2. Lack of Segmentation: Failing to segment your remarketing audiences can result in less targeted and relevant ads. Take advantage of audience segmentation based on user behavior, demographics, or specific actions taken on your website. By segmenting your audiences, you can tailor your ad messaging and offers to better resonate with each group.
3. Insufficient Ad Personalization: Remarketing ads should be highly personalized and relevant to the user’s previous interactions. Avoid generic or irrelevant ads that don’t take into account the user’s specific interests or behavior. Utilize dynamic remarketing, where ads are dynamically generated based on the user’s browsing history or specific products viewed, to provide a more personalized experience.
4. Poor Timing: Timing is crucial in remarketing. Showing ads too soon after a user’s visit may come across as intrusive, while showing ads too late may result in missed opportunities. Determine an appropriate time delay for remarketing ads based on your industry, typical customer journey, and user behavior on your website.
5. Ineffective Landing Pages: Even if your remarketing ads are well-crafted, if the landing page they lead to does not align with user expectations or fails to provide a seamless experience, you may lose potential conversions. Ensure that the landing pages you direct users to are relevant, optimized, and provide a clear call-to-action to maximize the impact of your remarketing efforts.
6. Ignoring Privacy and Consent: Remarketing relies on the collection and utilization of user data. It’s crucial to comply with privacy regulations and obtain appropriate user consent for data tracking and targeting. Be transparent about your data practices, provide clear opt-out options, and follow relevant data protection guidelines to maintain user trust.
7. Overreliance on Remarketing: While remarketing can be effective, it’s important to diversify your marketing efforts and not rely solely on this strategy. Incorporate other marketing channels, such as search advertising, social media advertising, content marketing, and email marketing, to reach and engage with a broader audience and maximize your overall marketing impact.

Remarketing Analytic Tools

There are several remarketing analytic tools available that can help you track, measure, and optimize the performance of your remarketing campaigns. These tools provide valuable insights into user behavior, ad performance, and conversion tracking. Here are some popular remarketing analytic tools:

• Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a widely used web analytics tool that provides in-depth insights into website traffic, user behavior, and conversions. It offers remarketing-specific reports and features, such as audience insights, conversion tracking, and campaign performance analysis.
• Google Ads Conversion Tracking: Google Ads provides built-in conversion tracking capabilities that allow you to track specific actions, such as purchases, sign-ups, or form submissions. By setting up conversion tracking, you can measure the effectiveness of your remarketing campaigns and optimize them accordingly.
• Facebook Pixel: The Facebook Pixel is a tracking code that helps you measure the effectiveness of your Facebook and Instagram remarketing campaigns. It provides valuable data on user actions, such as page views, add-to-cart events, and purchases. This data can be used to optimize your campaigns and create custom remarketing audiences.
• Twitter Ads Conversion Tracking: Twitter Ads offers conversion tracking tools that allow you to track and measure specific actions taken by users, such as purchases or app installations. This helps you analyze the performance of your remarketing campaigns on the Twitter platform.
• LinkedIn Insight Tag: The LinkedIn Insight Tag is a tracking code that enables you to measure the performance of your LinkedIn remarketing campaigns. It provides insights into website visits, conversions, and audience demographics, allowing you to optimize your campaigns and target the right audience.
• Adobe Analytics: Adobe Analytics is a comprehensive web analytics tool that provides in-depth insights into user behavior, conversion tracking, and audience segmentation. It offers advanced remarketing analytics capabilities for tracking and optimizing your campaigns.
• Hotjar: Hotjar is a user behavior analytics tool that provides heatmaps, session recordings, and conversion funnels. It helps you understand how users interact with your website and identify areas for optimization in your remarketing campaigns.
• Kissmetrics: Kissmetrics is a customer analytics and conversion tracking tool that helps you track and analyze user behavior throughout their journey. It provides insights into user engagement, conversion rates, and lifetime value, enabling you to optimize your remarketing efforts.
• Criteo: Criteo is an advertising platform that offers remarketing and conversion tracking solutions. It provides analytics tools to measure the performance of your remarketing campaigns across different channels and optimize them based on data-driven insights.
• AdRoll: AdRoll is a retargeting and remarketing platform that offers robust analytics and reporting features. It provides insights into campaign performance, audience segmentation, and conversion tracking to help you optimize your remarketing campaigns.

Remarketing metrics

When measuring the effectiveness of your remarketing campaigns, there are several key metrics you should track. These metrics provide insights into campaign performance, user engagement, and conversion rates. Here are some important remarketing metrics to consider:

1. Impressions: The number of times your remarketing ads are displayed to users.
2. Clicks: The number of times users click on your remarketing ads to visit your website or landing page.
3. Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that result in clicks. It is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions and multiplying by 100.
4. Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or signing up. It is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the number of clicks and multiplying by 100.
5. Cost Per Click (CPC): The average cost incurred for each click on your remarketing ads. It is calculated by dividing the total cost of the campaign by the number of clicks.
6. Cost Per Conversion (CPA): The average cost incurred for each conversion generated by your remarketing campaigns. It is calculated by dividing the total cost of the campaign by the number of conversions.
7. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): The revenue generated for every dollar spent on your remarketing campaigns. It is calculated by dividing the total revenue by the total ad spend and multiplying by 100.
8. Frequency: The average number of times a user is exposed to your remarketing ads during a specific time period. Monitoring frequency helps you avoid ad fatigue and ensure optimal exposure.
9. View-Through Conversions (VTC): The number of conversions that occur after a user sees your remarketing ad but does not click on it. VTC gives insights into the indirect impact of your ads on conversions.
10. Engagement Metrics: Depending on the ad format, engagement metrics such as video views, likes, comments, and shares can provide insights into user engagement and interest in your remarketing ads.
11. Return on Investment (ROI): The overall profitability of your remarketing campaigns. ROI is calculated by subtracting the total campaign cost from the total revenue and dividing it by the total campaign cost, then multiplying by 100.
12. Audience Segmentation Metrics: If you have segmented your remarketing audience, metrics such as engagement rates, conversion rates, and revenue generated by different segments can help you identify the most valuable audience segments and tailor your campaigns accordingly.

Remarketing benchmarks

Remarketing benchmarks can vary depending on factors such as industry, target audience, ad format, and campaign objectives. It is recommended to compare your own campaign performance against these benchmarks and track your progress over time:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR):
  • Display Remarketing: Average CTR ranges from 0.5% to 1.5%.
  • Social Media Remarketing: Average CTR ranges from 0.5% to 1.0%.
• Conversion Rate:
  • Display Remarketing: Average conversion rates range from 1% to 5%.
  • Social Media Remarketing: Average conversion rates range from 2% to 8%.
• Cost Per Click (CPC):
  • Display Remarketing: Average CPC ranges from $0.50 to $2.00.
  • Social Media Remarketing: Average CPC ranges from $0.30 to $1.50.
• Cost Per Conversion (CPA):
  • Display Remarketing: Average CPA ranges from $10 to $50.
  • Social Media Remarketing: Average CPA ranges from $5 to $30.

Google Ads Benchmarks
Google periodically releases industry-specific benchmark data through its Google Ads platform. You can access these benchmarks by logging into your Google Ads account and navigating to the “Benchmarking” section.

Facebook Ads Insights
Facebook provides aggregated performance data and insights through its Facebook Ads Manager platform. You can explore the available benchmarks and performance metrics within the platform to gain insights specific to Facebook remarketing campaigns.

Marketing Research Firms
Companies like eMarketer, Forrester Research, and Gartner often publish industry reports and studies that include benchmarks for various digital marketing channels, including remarketing. These reports may require a subscription or purchase.

Digital Marketing Blogs and Publications
Trusted digital marketing blogs and publications, such as Moz, HubSpot, and Search Engine Journal, often share benchmark data and insights based on their research and industry expertise. Checking their resources or conducting a search on their platforms may provide relevant benchmarks.

Remarketing latest trends

Staying updated with industry news, attending conferences, and following reputable marketing publications can provide you with the latest insights and trends in remarketing, here are some notable trends in remarketing:

• Cross-Device Remarketing: With users accessing content across multiple devices, cross-device remarketing has gained importance. Advertisers are focusing on strategies to target users seamlessly across devices, delivering consistent messaging and personalized experiences.
• Personalization and Dynamic Remarketing: Personalization continues to be a key trend in remarketing. Dynamic remarketing takes personalization a step further by dynamically displaying ads featuring products or content that users have previously shown interest in, creating more relevant and engaging experiences.
• Privacy and Data Regulations: Privacy concerns and data regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), have prompted marketers to reassess their remarketing practices. Advertisers are increasingly adopting privacy-compliant strategies and seeking user consent for data collection and targeting.
• Enhanced Audience Segmentation: Advertisers are leveraging advanced audience segmentation techniques to create more precise remarketing campaigns. Utilizing data points such as user behavior, demographics, interests, and intent, marketers are tailoring ads to specific audience segments to increase relevancy and drive higher conversion rates.
• Video Remarketing: Video remarketing has gained popularity as a powerful format to engage users. Advertisers are utilizing video ads on platforms like YouTube and social media to reconnect with their audience and reinforce brand messaging.
• AI and Machine Learning: AI and machine learning technologies are being leveraged to optimize remarketing campaigns. Automated bidding, predictive analytics, and real-time optimization help improve targeting, ad placement, and budget allocation for better campaign performance.
• Multi-Channel Remarketing: Marketers are expanding their remarketing efforts beyond traditional display ads. They are utilizing various channels such as social media platforms, email marketing, SMS messaging, and even offline channels to reach users at different touchpoints and reinforce their brand message.
• Voice-Activated Remarketing: With the increasing popularity of voice assistants and smart speakers, voice-activated remarketing is emerging as a new frontier. Advertisers are exploring ways to deliver targeted ads and personalized experiences through voice-enabled devices.
• In-App Remarketing: Mobile apps present a significant opportunity for remarketing. Advertisers are utilizing in-app remarketing to engage with users who have previously interacted with their app, showing them tailored ads to encourage re-engagement and conversions.
• Social Media Remarketing: Remarketing on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, continues to be a prevalent trend. Advertisers are leveraging the advanced targeting options and engagement capabilities of these platforms to reconnect with users and drive conversions.

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More Information

Business News Daily: 4 Tips for Making Your Remarketing Campaign a Success
Adroll: Remarketing definition and how it works
WordStream: How Does Google Remarketing Work?
Search Engine Journal: What Is Remarketing: 8 Types Of Remarketing To Consider
Truepush: What is Remarketing? 9 Types Of Remarketing Strategies 2023
HubSpot: What Is Retargeting? How To Set Up an Ad Retargeting Campaign